FWIW, keep an eye on the hose as I had to replace mine recently, the kink developed a leak over time.

Looking great!!!!

I worked on the throttle a little bit today. I have a Vista Cruise throttle stop and I wanted to retain that for this build. However, the Vista Cruise was a little sloppy for my taste. So, I drilled and tapped the drain hole (?) underneath the throttle for a M6 bolt and now it is solid. No slop.

Attachment 21516
Attachment 21517
Attachment 21518

Dash will be complete this weekend.

I let my cousin know that I won't make the trip around Lake Michigan over this coming weekend. My bike has way to many items to get done and not enough time. Sure, I could slap it together and make the trip, and I seriously thought about doing just that, but then I would need to take it back apart when I got home. I can always make this trip next year, because they do it yearly.

Crux,

with the amount of effort you have gone to it would be a shame just to slap it together now.

I can see a lot of test rides before you are happy with it as evidenced by this build you want it right.

Totally in awe of this build and your skills and am waiting anxiously to see it complete.

Keep us posted.

Thanks guys!

I decided to see what my bike weighed the way it sat. And, exactly like it is in the last picture (+1 qt. of oil) Front: 156lbs, Rear: 156lbs.

I accidentally put a scrape in the right engine cover. So, the engine cover needed to come off and get repainted. Luckily I have several gaskets for just in case.

What do you think it will weigh when finished.

I have removed soo much weight from mine that it has become skittish, especially when my tires are nearing the end of their life.

As for the scratch on your engine cover I am glad to see that you are rectifying that. The bike is too nice to have a mark on it. I am expecting Hi Def pictures when you are finished and a bonus would be a video so that we can hear what it sounds like.

Great work and good luck as you move closer to the finished product.

P.S Get a bit more weight over the front if you can! Don't know why I said that but I remember the difference to the way that my bike handled when I put the shim in the back shock!

Keep going mate!

Not sure what it will weigh when it is done.

I will post a YouTube video of the first time I crank over and hopefully start the brand new "hot rod" engine.

With the Ohlins shock, I cranked up the preload, so the back end came up the equivalent of putting a 10mm spacer in the stock shock.

I saw that scratch and could have let it go, but noticed a couple other imperfections in the paint. So, now was the time to take it off and redo it. Cost me a gasket and a little time, but it will make me happy to have it perfect.

I would've loved to get my engine cover powder coated, but I removed the "Honda" label and I took off a little too much in a few spots and had to use filler.

The pictures below show the finished starter and how the thermostat housing turned out after removing the "carb" nipple. Turned out nice except for one very small fish eye.

I'll be working on the dash soon.

Attachment 21513
Attachment 21514

Crux
Just my 2cents on the rear shock. The Ohlins measures 1mm longer than the stock shock. Ride height should not be confused with preload. Preload compensates for weight of the rider(s) their safety gear and/or luggage and allows you to properly set the suspension sag (about .75 - 1.00" in the rear should work). Altering the length of the rear shock through shimming changes the static and dynamic suspension geometry. It alters chain pull, weight transfer, how the bike finishes a corner, blah, blah, on and on. What I am saying is, shim the shock, then set the preload to suit your weight. My basic calculations have me at 5mm up in the rear, .75 sag, 2mm down in the front, with 1.25 sag... I'm 201 in my gear... Your mileage may vary!��

Dash #2

I will keep editing this post with pictures of the new dash. Same design as the last one, but a little better and all done in brushed stainless steel.

I decided to give the new dash a little thickness to it. So, I cut some metal 5/8" wide to weld along the edge. Should look nice when it is finished.

Attachment 21507
Attachment 21508
Attachment 21509

Bobby,
You have me reading all sorts of suspension articles. I have learned A Lot. Thank you for showing me what is right and wrong.

Matt
I am amazed by the work you do. You are totally fearless! Remember to set your sag with a half a tank of fuel and all your gear on! How's the sniffer?

Thanks!

I will remember to do that.

My sniffer is still a little sore, but I have been going about my life as usual. I don't need Breath Right strips anymore, which rocks. Being able to sleep comfortably in any which position made the pain of the Septoplasty worth it.

Glad it's getting better! Keep hitting us with the updates, I'm vicariously enjoying your build!

I haven't had much time to work on the bike, due to work. There has been several days that I had time, but the heat has simply drained me. I finally got the cooling system finished. The radiators needed to be relocated 1 1/4" back. The right radiator had some issues as shown in the picture.

I was going to install the carbs, but I haven't yet made the carbon plates that hold the carbs together. I have the sheet of carbon fiber, but haven't had the time yet to trace the metal plates. Soon....very soon.

Attachment 21499
Attachment 21500
Attachment 21501
Attachment 21502
Attachment 21503

Glad to see some progress.

As usual everything looks great.

Time is a bastard for me too, I have things I want to do to my VTR but other bikes are demanding attention.

Can't wait to see it finished.

Today, I'll get the wire harness fitted (I hope I remember how it routes), then put on the carbs, and attach the front fairing. The front fairing needs to be in place for me to center the custom dash, which I will start building if I have enough time today.

Started a new business and its going very well and it has been taking up my free time. I have been thinking of outsourcing the painting of the fairings just to speed things up. I hate doing that, because I like doing things myself, but if I want to ride this thing, and there has been some fantastic weather lately, then I might have to let someone else work on my bike. Uhg...

Don't despair about outsourcing if it gets her on the road quicker.

Your almost there!

Actually got some time to work on the bike tonight. I worked on making the new dash a bit and then I bumped the TIG torch and screwed up a weld which couldn't be fixed, because the entire dash is brushed stainless steel. I knew this while making it, but crap happens. So, I'm going back to making it out of a sheet of carbon fiber. The carbon dash is 90% done. Once the dash is complete, I then need to make a bracket for the magnet speedo for the Veypor gauge. After that, I can throw all the body work on and fire it up and ride! The body work is still unfinsihed and wearing black primer, which absolutely sucks. Beautiful bike with shitty plastics. Painting the plastics will have to wait until the end of the year. I just need to ride.

Hey Crux,

Can't wait to see it ready to ride.

Maybe the bodywork will look good against all of your work.

Make sure you do a vid when you fire her up please.

Yes, yes video with audio!

You got it guys. I will take a video when I fire this beast of an engine up.

I got the new carbon fiber dash done, well, for the most part. I still need to remove the superbright LED's from my last iteration of the dash, which the wires are hot glued in place with heavy duty glue sticks. Once the LED's are swapped over hooked up, I have one more thing to do before I fire it up! Getting excited!

:popcorn:

It's starting to feel like Christmas !

Only joking, as a famous Australian used to say ( His name was Big Kev ) I'm excited !

Can't wait to hear it !

DASH #3
Well, here is the next iteration of my dash. Carbon fiber and stainless steel. Those three stainless steel sticks will be bent at 90 degrees and glued to the back of the carbon fiber sheet. The center will be cut out and a stainless steel structure will be bent up to hold the Veypor gauge in place. I have changed this dash so many times, but I believe this is finally it.

Attachment 21452
Attachment 21453

Attachment 21454
Attachment 21455

The stainless steel structure didn't turn out exactly the way I had planned. I had an issue bending it. I took measures by drilling the inside corners and also using a Dremel to cut a small groove on the opposite side of the metal of the corner I wanted to bend.

I will probably end up making this piece again, but cutting & welding it, instead of bending it. However, making it again will have to wait until another time. I just want to ride this bike!

You go boy! Looking great!!!!

Updated the new dash.

Crux ,

Mate,

Get her on the road ASAP .

When you do, make sure you do a vid as I want to hear that engine.

Almost there , Keep going .

I can only imagine the satisfaction when you do ride , that is one sharp bike you have. The attention to detail is second to none.

I went for a ride yesterday and there was a guy on a black VTR that had a set of Ballistic pipes on it and it sounded "FAT "at a service station I stopped at to refuel. I introduced myself and told him about this site. He checked my bike and asked questions, He was amazed at the braced swing arm, electric water pump, rear sets and the comment was , I keep finding stuff, what's this what's that ?

That's the great thing about the VTR, you can make it what you want.

You guys got it. Video will be in depth and have decent audio. Short, but to the point. It won't be one of those crappy, home made videos where everyone feels they are the next Quentin Tarantino.

Give me another week and I will have 'er back on the road. I got a lot done this weekend. The dash is near completion and the speedo bracket needs yet to be made. Other than that, she'll be running soon.

Damn boy! Crux I never knew your bike was build from the ground up! I like your build man! It looks great. You got a great machine there!

Hey Crux,

How is it going?

Thanks man. I got the bike as a pile of parts for a few hundred dollars. Assembled the bike and rode it for a couple years. Then the engine had a major issue, so I disassembled the bike and rebuilt it to exactly how I wanted. Very close to riding it again.

I haven't had any free time to work on it. I need to spend a couple hours wiring up the new dash and make a small bracket for the magnetic speedo pickup. That's it. A few hours is all I need. I can't let this bike sit over winter like this, being so close. So, I am blocking out this coming Saturday as a full day to work on the bike. I'm getting excited just thinking that I could fire it up this weekend!